The Great Fire of 1913 Left this City in Ruins

The Great Fire of 1913 Left this City in Ruins. . , You are standing where, on September 5 at about 2:15 in the afternoon, the fire of 1913 began. A hot iron ignited a curtain and the flames soon consumed the Pine Bluff House. Driven by high winds, the fire quickly spread to nearby wooden buildings. , By midnight, 60 city blocks had been destroyed. This fire would be remembered as the largest urban fire in Arkansas history. , The estimated loss of $10 million included at least 700 homes and 155 businesses. More than 2,500 people were left homeless. Among the buildings destroyed were the Garland County Courthouse, the Hot Springs High School, and the Iron Mountain Railroad Depot. , [photo captions] , . People walk Malvern Avenue following the great fire , Courtesy, Library of Congress, . A simple beginning , The small fire that started at the Pine Bluff House quickly spread throughout the city., . Smoke and people , In the streets and from the top of boxcars near the Rock Island Depot (far right), people watched the spreading fire from Benton Street (now Convention Boulevard). , . Devastation , The charred ruins of Central Methodist Church on Central Avenue (left) and Hot Springs High School on Oak Street towered above the fire’s devastation. , Photos courtesy of the Garland County Historical Society